Thebacha

Statements in Debates

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 4th Session (day 34)

Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Friday, February 26, 2010, I will move that Bill 12, Supplementary Appropriation Act (Infrastructure Expenditures) No. 4, 2009-2010, be read for the first time. Thank you.

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 4th Session (day 34)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, 65 years is more than any age of any of us sitting in this august Assembly. It’s decades longer than any warranty we’ll ever get. It’s the age of retirement, something to look forward to. In some parts of the world it’s the age of life expectancy, but today 65 years is a milestone that I’d like us to honour and recognize. We have with us in the gallery Mr. Al and Febula Bohnet, and today they’re celebrating a lifetime together of commitment, love and sharing going back 65 years today.

---Applause

This is an enormous accomplishment in this day and age. They’re...

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 4th Session (day 34)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Once again, I appreciate the Member’s comments. Her observations, I think, are accurate, as well, in terms of the ongoing health care costs, and the issue of sustainability is a huge challenge for every jurisdiction. Thank you.

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 4th Session (day 34)

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. These particular circumstances with children in southern placements and adults are constantly being assessed. There is a changing variety of presenting problems, multiple needs, many in high need categories, and the challenge is that you may only have one or two clients that have very specific high needs that can only be met in a specialized facility. If you have a number of those clients across a number of very expensive facilities, it limits our ability to meet all those different needs under one program area.

We did take a look at this, as the Member pointed out...

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 4th Session (day 34)

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate the advice from the Member.

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 4th Session (day 34)

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Given the knowledge of the figures, the last serious effort to this was back in 2003-2004. Back then, the costs even then were considered excessive, given the money that was available, and have only increased since then. So we haven’t pursued this as an active initiative as of late. Thank you.

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 4th Session (day 34)

The two that are related, most directly related, are the aging workforce and the growing number of referrals. While we know we have an aging workforce, it’s hard to anticipate the amount of referrals. We tend to base our budget numbers on the previous year’s expenditures and the other thing as we go from budget year to budget year the number of employees we try to budget are based on actuals and not projections. Thank you.

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 4th Session (day 34)

Mr. Chairman, Margaret Melhorn, deputy minister of Finance; Charles Tolley, the director of the Management Board Secretariat.

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 4th Session (day 34)

Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Friday, February 26, 2010, I will move that Bill 13, Appropriation Act (Operations Expenditures), 2010-2011, be read for the first time.

Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Friday, February 26, 2010, I will move that Bill 14, Supplementary Appropriation Act (Operations Expenditures) No. 3, 2009-2010, be read for the first time.

Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Friday, February 26, 2010, I will move that Bill 15, Supplementary Appropriation Act (Infrastructure Expenditures) No. 1, 2010-2011, be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.